Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution

Paterson ( On Every Front: The Making of the Cold War ) reviews the uneasy course of Cuban-American relations during the insurrection against Fulgencio Batista, the development of U.S. government and private-sector ties with the Cuban dictator, and the growing resentment of the Cuban people during the 1950s over Washington's support of the repressive, corrupt and violent regime in Havana. In his well-documented study, the author describes Washington's attempts to block Fidel Castro's assumption of power as Batista fled into exile in December 1958. He also reveals the tenuous relationships among the Cuban rebels during the insurrectionary period. Paterson shows how Batista failed to marshal popular support and Castro won the propaganda war with the help of Herbert L. Matthews's New York Times articles, which advanced the image of Castro as a Robin Hood figure in a noble cause. In Paterson's view a Cuban-American detente is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Photos. (Apr.)